Hamas: No hostages to be released unless Gaza war ends
Hamas' acting Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday that there would be no hostages-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless the war in the Palestinian enclave ended.
"Without an end to the war, there can be no prisoner swap," Hayya said in a televised interview with the group's Al-Aqsa television channel, reiterating the group's position on how to bring the war to an end.
"If the aggression is not ended, why would the resistance and in particular Hamas, return the prisoners (hostages)?" he said. "How would a sane or an insane person lose a strong card he owns while the war is continuing?"
Efforts to negotiate a truce for Gaza have stalled, and the U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an unconditional permanent ceasefire. Washington's U.N. ambassador said the U.S. would only support a resolution that explicitly calls for the immediate release of the Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire.
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